But yesterday, tributes flowed for the man who will be remembered for his expanse of pro bono work and never-ending fight for the “underdog”.

The city’s legal fraternity was still coming to terms with the loss of one of its gentlemen, who died at midnight on Sunday in Maitland Hospital after battling cancer.

Aged in his mid-70s, Oakhampton-born Mr Logan remained a regular on the court circuit, providing legal aid in Maitland, Kurri Kurri and Cessnock.

But colleague Peter Cleaves said Mr Logan had initially pursued a career in the church, rather than the courtroom.

“I’m told he dabbled in his youth with the idea of entering the priesthood, but he abandoned that and completed his clerk articles at Harris Wheeler in Newcastle, which at the time was the largest country legal practice in the State,” he said yesterday.

It was the beginning of more than half a century of involvement with the law, when Mr Logan worked for firms that included Enrights, Parke Maher and Thompson Norrie.

But his hallmark was his belief that everybody should be represented in court, whether they could pay the bill or not.

Magistrate Stephen Jackson acknowledged Mr Logan’s contribution to the Lower Hunter legal community at the start of yesterday’s sitting.

“He was a solicitor who was always prepared to assist people who could not ordinarily afford to see a solicitor,” Mr Cleaves said.

“He did a great deal of pro-bono work – he never knocked anyone back.”

His colleague at Parke Maher, Terry Maher said Mr Logan was “always a very compassionate, kind man who was more concerned about successful outcomes for the underdog.

“John wasn’t much into making money.

“He was a very, very fine individual.”

Al Noronha, also a solicitor whose friendship with Mr Logan spanned 30 years, said the strength of Mr Logan’s conviction was unwavering.